The present invention relates to lactam-lactone copolymers and their process of preparation.
Polyamides as a class have a wide range of properties and therefore a wide range of applications. One important class of polyamides are the polylactams prepared by the polymerization of lactams such as caprolactam and the like. Polycaprolactam or nylon 6 is the most widely used of the polylactams. When nylon 6 is unsuitable for a particular application, polylactams other than polycaprolactam or copolylactams have been used. Included among these copolylactams are lactam-polyol-polyacyl lactam block terpolymers as disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,112 to Hedrick et. al. Such block copolylactams are useful in the manufacture of fibers, fabrics, films, and molded articles.
For some applications (i.e., gaskets, molding compositions, processing aids for plastics) a copolylactam that can demonstrate a range in properties from hard and crystalline to rubbery and resembling polyurethanes in terms of mechanical behavior would be useful and in the later range could represent a low cost alternative to polyurethanes.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a copolylactam having the above-specified range of properties.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for making such copolylactams.